Grinding machine and interchanger therefor



June 24, 1930. vu u 1,767,416

GRINI J ING MACHINE AND, INTERCHANGER THEREFOR Filed June 27, 1922 III" lIIIIII/III/III/I/IIIlI/I l) (I; AW

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2 1 ATTORNEY.

Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED STAT S- FATE-NT- C F E] ALBERT VUILLEUMIER, or BRISTOL, oonnnc'rrcti'r, ASSIGNOR TO THE .NEW inn- 'plicable comprise a-pairiof opposed discs being of the balls PARTURE MANUFACTURING COMPANY,

TION OF CONNECTICUT OIF' BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORA-' GRINDING MncIIINE em) INTERGHANGER cinnamon V a 'AppIicatioII fiIed J'une 27,

This invention relates to machines for "grinding antifriction members, espec1ally balls such as are used"1n'ant1fr1ct1on bearings of the ball type, and has more particular during the grinding operation." Machines to which theinvention 1s more particularly aptween which the roughly formed antifriction membersa re ground. 7011B ofthe discs is of suitable abrasive material, While the Other disc is ofsteel or the like andis provided with a series of circular grooves eoncentric -with -'the center of the disc and of successively increasing diameters, these grooves being for guiding and controlling the balls during the grinding operation. To secure proper grinding in machines of this character. it is advisable not onlythat the balls, during the grinding, be moved from one grooveto another but also that the positions of the balls be changed with respectto each other; I have devised 'a means for efie cting this desirable shifting about or interchanga-highly etficient and satis- One object of the invention is-to' provide a shaping,'more particularly-1a grinding, machine in which the articles operatedupomas antifrict-ion members, are eflic'ie'ntl-y' and frequently shifted about or interchanged with respect to the guiding means, or grooves, and

' with" respect to each other, 'during the shap- -Without restricting, theginvention thert ing. 1 Another object is to provide an. improved mixer or interchanger for changing the po- 'sitions of the articles with respect tojthe guid- 'ing means and with respect to each other during theshapinggQ Tothese ends andalso-to improve generally upondevice's ofthe character indicated my; invention consists in the Ivarious'matters hereinafter describedandclaimed."

I describe it with morejparticular reference V to thei"embodiments-ithereofillustrated. in

thei'accompanying drawings. In these draw-j m er-e -1 j w Fi-gure 1 is a side elevation ofthediscs of a grlndmg machine, together; with certain 192 2. lserial'no. 571,285.

of the immediately adjacent parts, with an I antifri otion member interchanger, construct,

ed in accordance with'the invention com "bined therewith; relation to means for'interchanging the balls Figure 2 is a View comprising a section taken substantially on the line 22of Figure 1 to show the interior construction of the interchanger, and the view' also showing a portion otthe"guicle disc carrier and,;in dotted lines, the grooves in the face of the guide disc; I j

l Figure-3 is an enlarged section substa ntially'onthe line 33 of Fig, 1 (and Fig. '5)

and showing the stripper-finger plate prior to'the forming ofthe stripper-fingers;

"Figure l is a View "similar to Fig. 3 but showing the stripper-plate after the formation of thefingelf t Figure 5 is a view generally similar toFig. c I

1 but showing a somewhat modified form of interchanger, and

' FigureGis a fragmental'view'o f the guide disc and the directing member for directing the antifrictionmembers into "the "grooves after the members have had their positions vchangedby the-inte'rchanger.

,Referring now to the drawings,and for the present more particularly to Figs. lito l and '6, the illustrated structure comprises fixed I "gnide disclyof steel or other suitable material, provided'with guide grooves 2 for the balls, and'carried by a carrier 3, and an opposed mating disc 4 of suitable abrasive material. As will be understood by those skilled inthe'art,the discs are, in use suitably mounted upon-any desired' frame (notsliown),

proper means for driving the, abrasive-disccarrying shaft/'5 therebyto rotate the abrasive disc 4, being provided and the disc being so mounted as to'beurged towards the ,disc' 4-, as forrexample, by' theexpanding spring 6,- The interchanger, to which the invention more particularly relates,- is indicated in general at 7; 'shown,fthe 'disc' l is provided with a substantially rectangular opening 8; extending substantially radially there'acr'oss andiinterrupting thegrobves' 2, .and-t-heca-rr1er 3 is provided Wlthfl corresponding opening- The interchanger of the present nvention is mounted at *said openings and with respect to the disc 1 in position to receive the balls from the downwardly facing open ends 2 of the interrupted grooves 2, and to return them to the grooves by supplying them to the upwardly facing open ends 2 of the interrupted grooves, after proper mixing and interchanging.

As here shown, the interchanger 7 comprises in general an open-topped receptaclelike body having one end-open as indicated at 10 (Fig. 2) and having a downwardly sloping partition 11 brid ing the body and extending, longitudinally of the body from the open-end thereof (which end is in immediate communication with the face of the disc 1, as indicated .at 12) well toward the rearwall thereof as indicated at 1-3. The substantially flat bottom 14 of the receptacle has an inclination opposite to that of the partition 11 and communicates with the face of the disc 1 as indicated at 15. 7

It is to be particularly noted that whereas the edge 16 of the partition 11 is straight, as

is desirable in order that it may properly mate with the opening -8 in the disc 1, they partition is of concave and chute-like configuration substantially throughout its length. This provides that as the balls pass from the grooves 2 to the upper straight edge of the partition, they tend to form in successive transverse rows and, moving down towards the concave delivery edge of the partition, are compelled by the transverse inclination to converge and pile up at the center. As the balls drop from the end 13 of the partition they are spread out again by the flat inclined bottom'14 of the receptacle. Thus, a very efiicient mixing of the balls is secured.

To insure that the balls departing from the downwardly facing open ends 2* shall be caught upon the edge 16 of the partition 11, the said edge extends well beyond the plane of the bottoms of the grooves 2, and preferbly, as indicated in Fig. 3 at 18, the edge 16 projects forwardly from the face of the disc 1 substantially across the space between the disc 1 and the disc 4. Furthermore, the edge 16 is provided with stripper devices or fingers 19 (Fig. 4) which project into the grooves 20 in the face of the. abrasive disc4 thus to insure the dislodging of the balls from the grooves 20. r

The fingers 19 may be provided at the edge 16 in any desired manner. As here indicated the partition 11 embodies, attached to the body thereof, as by the'screws 21, a plate 22 which presents the said fingers. As will be understood, these fingers may be formed in the edge of, the plate 22 in any suitable manner; but as illustrating one convenient method of forming the fingers referenceis made to Figs. 3 and 4. As illustratedin F ig. 3,; the abrasive disc-4 isinitiallywitho'ut grooves 20, the grooves being formed by the balls them-- selves; during, the grinding correspondingly the edge of the plate 22 is initially without fingers. As the grinding proceeds the balls form the grooves 20 and, as the spring 6 (Fig. 1) forces the disc 1 towards the disc 4 the edge of the plate 22 is ground into finger-presenting form by the disc 4. Of course, in cases where it is desired to use an abrasive disc initially formed with grooves, as 20, the plate 22 may be correspondingly initially formed with fingers, as 1-9, in any suitable machine, the exact method of forming the fingers, and whether the fingers are provided upon the plate 22 before or after its installation in the grinder,,not being of the essence of the invention.

a In order that the balls departing from the bottom 14 may readily pass into the receiving ends 2 of the interrupted grooves in'the disc 1, (and into thegrooves 20 of the disc 4) I preferably provide a directing plate 23 (Figs. 1, 2 and 6) which'plate is provided (Fig. 6) on its forward edge 24 with straight grooves 25, lyingsubstantially tangent t9 the grooves 2, and is formed with a. portion 26 inclined backwardly and -mating with the bottom 14. With this construction the balls,

as they pass. from the edge of the bottom 14, are suitably directed into the grooves of the discs despite the fact that such grooves are arcs.

The interchanger 7 may be mounted with the disc 1 in any suitable manner. As here shown it is carried upon a bracket 27 adjust ably mounted for vertical (in Fig. 1) movement relative to the carrier 3, and-is adjustably connected with the bracket for movement toward and from the carrier and disc 1, as by bolts 28 in T-slots 29, said bolts also serving to adjustably hold the directing plate 23 in position, the bolts passing through slots 23 in the plate. In order that, the balls may beconvenientlyremoved from the receptacle the bottom 14 of the same may, as shown, he provided with a discharge-slot-and-closingslide 30, with the slide removably carried in.

slots ,as 31 in the webs as the discharge slot. l Referring now to Fig. 5 themodified interchanger there shown comprises a receptacle 32" at each end of 33 substantially like the receptacle 7, except that its rear wall and a portion ofits bottom are omitted, combined with a rotating drum 34. The drum is provided on its interior Witha continuous upstanding flange 35 arranged in conveyorform as indicated. As the drum is rotated the balls discharge from the partition 86, and falling between the convolutions of the flange, are thoroughly 'mixed and ultimately discharged on to the bot-' tom 37. of'the receptacle, from which they pass intothe'open ends 2? of the interrupted grooves of the disc 1 as previously described. The end of the bottom 37 immediately adjacentthedrum is curved upward at each-side about the lower portion of the drum as indicated at 38 thus to give said end a somewhat trough-like form and close the space that would otherwise exist between the curved drum and the fiat bottom 37 While, for exactness and definiteness of description, I have described the invention as embodied in a grinder and interchanger for antifriction members it will be understood that the invention is not'restricted to devices for the production of antifriction members, nor is it restrictedto the production of antifriction members of ball-like character.

I claim: 7

1. In apparatus of the character described,

a rotary grinding member having article receiving grooves, in combination with an interchanger for removing the articles from the grooves and returnln them to the grooves in a different order, said interchanger comprlslng a receptacle "having a partition flat at one end and concave at the other to remove the articles from the grooves and cause them to converge and pile up, the I 7 bottom of the receptacle being flat and arranged to receive the articles from the partition and spread them outbeforereturning them to the grooves; substantially as described.

2. In apparatus of the character described, a grinding member having article receiving grooves, in combination with an interchanger for removing the articles from the grooves V and returning them to the grooves in a dif- V ferent order, said interchanger comprising a receptacle having apartition extending entirely across it and spaced from the bottom of the receptacle, said partition and said bottom being oppositely inclined longitudinally of the receptacle and said partition bein of less length than the receptacle toprovi e a passage between the end of the partition'and the end of the receptacle, the partition sloping downwardly towards said passage and having a straight receiving end to receive articles from all of the grooves,;the dischar e,

end of the partition being concave upward y to cause the articles to converge at the middle of the concavity, and the bottom of the receptacle being flat and slopingidownwardly from the passage to the groovesto spread 7 out the articles; substantially as described.

In testimony signature.

whereof I'hereunto aifix my ALBERT V'UILLEUMIERQ o 

